Narcissists and Psychopaths Online: The Narcissism of Cyberbullying and Trolling

Narcissists and Psychopaths Online: The Narcissism of Cyberbullying and Trolling by Shahida Arabi

Cyberspace provides malignant narcissists and those who have antisocial traits with easy access to victims and minimal effort. A recent study showed that online trolls demonstrated high degrees of sadism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism. Conclusion? In the words of Dr. Golbeck, internet trolls are narcissists, psychopaths and sadists.

This should come to no surprise to anyone who has encountered trolls or cyberbullies – they are notorious for attempting to provoke people in order to derive sick feelings of satisfaction that they apparently can’t get anywhere else. Their lack of compassion, tact and empathy when bullying others online is evident in the way they brandish their ill-informed opinions indiscriminately regardless of context, eagerly hoping to get recognition for their malice.

Cyberbullying and trolling are strategic ways for narcissists who lack adequate narcissistic supply or who are experiencing boredom to get a quick “fix” without being held accountable for their abuse.

In the context of intimate relationships, survivors of narcissistic abuse, an insidious form of psychological and emotional abuse that can cause what psychotherapist Christine Canon de Louisville calls “Narcissistic Victim Syndrome,” may be stalked, harassed and cyberbullied for years even after the ending of the relationship, especially if they were the ones to discard the narcissist first by exiting the relationship altogether.

When a narcissist suffers from an offense to their false sense of superiority and entitlement, they endure what is known as a narcissistic injury, often followed by narcissistic rage. This rage is a result of an injury to their ego when something or someone threatens their delusions of grandeur and “false self.”

Since survivors often implement No Contact with their abusers, narcissistic abusers feel a loss of power and attempt to regain that power through tactics like provocation, hoovering and post-breakup triangulation techniques.

On the internet, narcissists and those who have antisocial traits employ similar manipulation tactics in cyberspace to provoke and harm complete strangers.

Cyberbullying and trolling leave such a terrible psychological impact that there is even a movement against anonymous comments sections on media outlets. Since there is little accountability for cyberbullies and the laws against it in each state may not protect victims entirely from emotional abuse, it often goes unchecked and unpunished. If cyberbullies are ever reprimanded, it is usually after the fact of a tragic suicide or another form of publicity that draws attention to the consequences of cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying can also be retraumatizing and invalidating for survivors of abuse and trauma. Specifically, in the narcissistic abuse survivor community, narcissists tend to support other narcissists and both survivors as well as professionals may come under attack for speaking their truth about narcissistic abuse. There is, unfortunately, a great deal of victim-blamers and enablers online who support the actions of abusers or vilify advocates that expose the predatory nature of abusers with Narcissistic Personality Disorder or Antisocial Personality Disorder.

What do you think?

Shahida Arabi is a graduate of Columbia University graduate school and the author of The Smart Girl’s Guide to Self-Care, a bestselling Kindle book also available in print. She is also the author of Becoming the Narcissist's Nightmare: How to Devalue and Discard the Narcissist While Supplying Yourself, which became a #1 Amazon Bestseller upon its pre-order release. She studied Psychology and English Literature as an undergraduate at NYU, where she graduated summa cum laude. Her interests include psychology, sociology, education, gender studies and mental health advocacy. You can check out her new blog, Self-Care Haven, for topics related to mindfulness, mental health, narcissistic abuse and recovery from emotional trauma, like her page on Facebook, and subscribe to her YouTube Channel.